1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an LED lamp, and particularly to an LED lamp having a heat dissipation apparatus for heat dissipation.
2. Description of Related Art
Significant advances have been made in the technology of light emitting diodes (LEDs). LEDs are commercially available which generate 10-15 lumens/watt. This is comparable to the performance of incandescent bulbs. In addition, LEDs offer other advantages such as longer operating life, shock/vibration resistance and design flexibility because of their small size. As a result, LEDs are replacing traditional incandescent sources for illumination applications such as signage, and pathway lighting.
Typically, LED performance is affected by the driving current and by the ambient temperature surrounding the LED. Both of these parameters contribute to the junction temperature of the LED, which affects the performance. When applying LEDs for display backlighting or other illumination applications, there are two reasons to drive them with constant current: one is to avoid violating the absolute maximum current rating and compromising the reliability; the second is to obtain predictable and matched luminous intensity and chromaticity from each LED.
The power source for an LED is a direct current (DC) and low voltage power; therefore, the traditional power source of high voltage, alternating current (AC) power which is used to power the tungsten lamp or daylight lamp can not be directly used in powering the LED lamps. Therefore, an LED lamp generally includes an AC/DC converter that converts an AC, high voltage power to a DC, low voltage power to be supplied to the LEDs. The AC/DC converter will generate a significant amount of heat that must be dissipated to ensure reliable operation of the LED lamp. Furthermore, the LED lamp usually uses a plurality of closely packed LEDs, and most of the LEDs are driven at the same time, which results in a quick rise in temperature of the LED lamp.
However, since generally the LED lamp does not have heat dissipation devices with good heat dissipating efficiencies, operation of the general LED lamp has a problem of instability because of the rapid buildup of heat. Consequently, the light from the LED lamp often flickers, which degrades the quality of the illumination. Furthermore, if the LED lamp is used in a hot state for a long time, the life time thereof is consequently shortened.
What is needed, therefore, is an LED lamp which has a greater heat-dissipation capability.